Why put (hurt) yourself through a TTT?

For fun of course! It’s a proper challenge. Yes you get to test yourself against the clock, but for it to work the whole team has to work as a single unit, and when it works well its a fantastic feeling.

What did you do to prepare for the event?

As well as maintaining base fitness with long rides and increasing speed by doing intervals, we got together in the park to get to know each others strengths and weaknesses and to practice working as a team so we were well-drilled for race day.

What’s it like training with 3 other people?

Its great fun. Training with your teammates is such good motivation to get out from under the duvet and onto your bike. I find it really hard to push myself to the limit when I’m on my own, but when there’s people on my wheel, or I’m trying to hold on to one I can always get that little bit more out of myself.

How did you choose the final 4 teammates?

It was a no-brainer. 4 ladies in the club, 4 needed for a team. Sadly one of our number was taken out of action with an injury so we drafted in a friend last-minute. Thanks Mon!

How do you keep it together?

Communicate, practice, communicate. Even with the best of race plans,weather and road conditions can mean that you continuously need to adapt, adjusting the pace, taking longer or shorter turns to get the most out of the team as a whole.

What was it like competing?

Brilliant fun. I loved the pro-feel of warming up on the turbos in the arena, and the butterflies while we were at the top of the start ramp. Once we were off the ramp and out onto the course we got ourselves into a nice rhythm, and were rolling at a good pace. We quickly overtook a couple of groups, one of which tried to get on our wheel until we pointed out that this was a little bit cheaty!!! They tried to get back past us but we duked it out and dropped them on the climb. Unfortunately this effort was a bit much for Monica, who wasn’t race fit and she lost contact up the incline. We knew this might happen, but in the TTT you need 4 to start but its the time of the 3rd rider to cross the line which is your finishing time, so the remaining 3 of us cracked on, working strongly. We are all quite evenly matched in our ability so we naturally work well as a team and I know we all left everything we had out on the course. So proud of those ladies!

What did it feel like when you found out you got Top 4?

I was really proud of what we managed to achieve having had a last-minute change of line-up.

What was key to your success?

Liking your teamies! Training with those girls over summer, the hard efforts and the well deserved coffees after, spending hours riding with them was great fun. You learn to work together, and to trust them that close on your wheel and vice versa.

Any chance you’ll do a TTT again?

Of course. I really think we can go faster, there were a few scrappy moments out on the course last time and I’d love to absolutely nail one. We were only 12 seconds off the podium…tantalising.

Last, and most important question – Where do you look when you’re riding behind someone in lycra for an hour?

Ha! Honestly, I don’t remember…its much more about paying attention to what your own body is telling you to gauge how you’re doing – can I sustain this, or will I pay for it? Trying to read the body language of your teammates to gauge how they’re doing, reading the road ahead and waiting for the elbow to tell you its time to hit the front. I certainly don’t remember any of the scenery.

Why put (hurt) yourself through a TTT?

It’s completely different riding in group and riding in a TTT. I’d done a lot of group riding, but riding in a pace line doesn’t have the same team experience. In a TTT it’s not just about you, so it’s not just about how much you’re hurting or what your strengths are. You also need to know how your team mates are doing, where are they going to struggle on the course, where are they going to go well. It brings you together as team, and it means that you perform better. When we started training round Regent’s my PRs started to tumble simply because we were working together better.

What did you do to prepare for the event?

I tried to do a lot of high intensity, short volume work, focusing on intervals and some gym work, to build up my strength and power.

However, unfortunately I was preparing for London-Edinburgh-London at the same time, and doing the long distance training for that really affected my high intensity fitness. While my team mates were getting stronger and going in one direction, I was going in the other.

What’s it like training with 3 other people?

It was amazing. When you can see your own improvement it’s good, but when you can see your teammates improvements then it’s even better.

How did you choose the final 4 teammates?

We did an ITT round Richmond, as it was similar length and then chose from there. But ultimately it’s better to have team that works well together than a team of really strong individual riders, so rider suitability was a factor as well.

How do you keep it together?

Communication is key. If you’re not talking you don’t know how other people are doing and the team won’t be able to do their best. Chose a couple of key words, like “Ease Up”, “Switch” etc, and stick to them so that you have a quick shorthand.

What was it like competing?

It was both fantastic and disappointing. Fantastic because the experience was very well done. There were turbo trainers to warm up with, a starting ramp etc, and closed roads are always a pleasure to ride on. It was disappointing because I was dropped during the time trial.

What did it feel like when you found out you got Top 20?

It was good to hear that we came 20th. The team put in a lot of work and I didn’t want my performance to affect theirs too badly.

What was key to your success?

All the mornings we spent riding circles round Regent’s Park, working out how to gel as a team. Without that I don’t think that we would have done nearly as well.

Any chance you’ll do a TTT again?

Definitely, though I would never do one again when I have to do an endurance event a month later. Training for two completely different events just means that you end up under performing at both.

Last, and most important question – Where do you look when you’re riding behind someone in lycra for an hour?

I try to look up the road, so you can see what’s coming up. But I probably spent most of my time just staring at the wheel in front of me willing the pain to end.

How important is it to get aero, and what did you do that day?

Getting aero is less important than in an individual time trial, as when you’re at the back you’ve got team mates to share the work. But you should still be looking for the maximum benefit, between being aerodynamic and affecting your power output and speed. Doing work around stretching and strengthening can also help you be aero and maintain positions for longer.

I did a lot of fiddling with my stem (insert joke here) in the months leading up to the TTT, but it’s important to get your set up locked in before the race so that you’re not making changes close to the event, just like with nutrition. You don’t want to start a time trial only to find that you’ve messed up your position and can’t do your best.

Why put (hurt) yourself through a TTT?

What did you do to prepare for the event?

What’s it like training with 3 other people?

…(keep on reading)

How did you choose the final 4 teammates?

They were chosen, that’s all I can say.

How do you keep it together?

We didn’t.

What was it like competing?

There’s always something special when you know you’re about to compete. Road cycling can be full of passive aggressions, unacknowledged competitiveness, private races, hidden efforts – are we racing, or are we just riding? As someone who enjoys a limited brief, the honest, open, transparent acknowledgment of The Race is refreshing, and liberating.

What did it feel like when you found out you got Top 10?

Disappointed. But it didn’t matter.

What was key to your success?

Key to our success is that we’re bloody fast. Key to our lack of podium was that we hadn’t practised together and were consequently down to three men within the first two Kms.